Although the Flames are seeded third, they knocked off De Paul twice in the regular season. An expected Flames-De Paul showdown did not occur in the finals of last weekend's Mid-Continent Conference tournament. Illinois-Chicago, behind the pitching of California freshman Destiny Mollison, fought through the losers' bracket and twice beat Eastern Illinois 5-4 to win the league's NCAA bid. De Paul never reached the final, but received an at-large bid.

Three of the Flames top four pitchers are Californians. Likewise at De Paul where Kimberlee Blackmore of Long Beach is the staff ace. Chicagoland pitching stars in the field include Jen Banas of Illinois-Chicago, De Paul's Amber Podlesny, and Ugo.

Indiana recruited Chicago's south suburbs to attract Ugo from Sandburg High School and Venturella from Thornwood.

Ugo has a 33-5 record and the most pitching victories in the nation in the latest NCAA stats. She permitted only three earned runs in her last 111 innings and has a 1.39 ERA for the season.